Union Bridge is a bridge on Union Street,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is the largest single-span

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

bridge in the world, at 130 feet (40 metres). It was built by Thomas Fletcher under some influence from

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

. It is a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

with

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...

History

Constructed from 1801–05 as part of Union Street under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie, it was intended to provide an impressive approach into the city from the south (and west); previously the route had been somewhat circuitous. The bridge crosses the Denburn valley, and

Union Terrace Gardens Union Terrace Gardens is a public park and gardens situated on Union Terrace, Aberdeen, Union Terrace in Aberdeen, Scotland. The gardens The sunken gardens opened to the public in 1879, and cover approximately two and a half acres . The spac ...

. Alongside the gardens are a dual carriageway and single railway track; originally there was a small roadway and considerable railway workings, with the site being a short distance north of

Aberdeen railway station Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is located on Guild Street in the city centre, next to Union Squa ...

. The bridge was widened in 1908, in a scheme of

William Diack William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, with Benjamin Baker as consultant, shortly before the latter's death. Steel side spans which carry today's pavements were introduced, as were the famous "Kelly's cats", black cast metal

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

s which sit along the balustrade. The 'cats' were cast by William Wilson and added to the bridge in 1910. The name Kelly’s Cats is actually a misnomer as only the decorative bronze friezes, installed on the bridge in 1908, were designed by the Aberdeen architect William Kelly. The southern side of the bridge, including the cats, was hidden, and the view lost, when shops were constructed along it in the 1960s. These later became part of the Trinity Centre. The road and railways continue to run under the shops. The southern balustrade was moved to Duthie Park. Makeshift fencing was installed along the bridge in 2016 in an attempt to deter people from committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. A permanent barrier was completed as part of works to redevelop the adjacent

References

{{coord, 57, 08, 45, N, 2, 06, 06, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges in Aberdeen Category B listed buildings in Aberdeen Listed bridges in Scotland Bridges completed in 1805 1805 establishments in Scotland